Edwardsville, IL Birding Trails and Maps

294 Reviews

Looking for the best Birding trails around Edwardsville?

Find the top rated birding trails in Edwardsville, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.

The Carlyle Lake Bike Trail is located in one of Southwest Illinois's most popular recreational areas, just 50 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri—not far from that area's abundance of great trails, as...

The Creve Coeur Park Trails are a collection of paved pathways winding through wetland and wooded areas within St. Louis County’s first and largest park, which spans more than 2,000 acres. (When the...

The Delyte W. Morris Trail lies entirely on the campus of Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville (SIUE). It is named for the university's president at the Carbondale campus in the 1960s who helped...

Caution: While construction continues on the new I-270 bridge over the Mississippi River, be alert for trail restrictions or closings north of the parking lot access. The trail will remain open from...

Earth City Levee Trail, which opened in June 2015, is part of a growing trail network called the Missouri River Greenway. It connects directly with the Riverwoods Trail in Bridgeton, forming a paved...

Dedicated on August 5, 2000, the Green Diamond Rail-Trail was the first bicycling/pedestrian trail in Montgomery County. Partially funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the trail is...

Caution: Trail closures are occurring in two areas along the southern half of this trail: 1) near the construction site of the new I-270 bridge over the Mississippi River, and 2) at the construction...

The Madison County Transit (MCT) Nature Trail goes through richly varied surroundings of city, farm and wood. In the west, it begins at beautiful Wilson Park in Granite City. From there, it makes its...

The Madison County Transit (MCT) Nickel Plate Trail is the longest of the county’s trails and perhaps the most diverse in its offerings. On the west, it begins at a junction with the MCT Nature Trail,...

The MCT Quercus Grove Trail begins in Edwardsville at its junction with the MCT Nickel Plate Trail. It begins on city sidewalks and alleys near Edwardsville's historic downtown area and very quickly...

The Madison County Transit (MCT) Schoolhouse Trail offers a 15.5-mile flat, paved route through the eastern suburbs of greater St. Louis, Missouri, between Madison and Maryville, Illinois. Along the...

The Madison Count Transit (MCT) Watershed Trail is all about trains, bridges and waterways. It follows an abandoned rail corridor built in 1868, the first to serve the city of Edwardsville, itself the...

The McKinley Bridge has a long and storied past. In 1910, it opened to both railroad and vehicular traffic. Railroad tracks ran through the strong center portion of the bridge under the trusses, and...

The Metro-East Levee Trail offers a semicircle route around Cahokia, which lies south of St. Louis and east of the Mississippi River. It parallels a canal and sits atop a levee that is 30 feet high at...

The Greater St. Louis area is dominated by the “Great Rivers.” While the Mississippi River gets most of the attention, the Missouri River is not one to be taken for granted. An emerging trail system...

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was part of the renowned Route 66 and crosses a scenic stretch of the Mississippi River. It links two states—Illinois and Missouri—north of St. Louis. The bridge is short...

This trail along Richland Creek is in two discontiguous sections that must be accessed separately. The northern section goes by the thick and quiet woods of Centennial Park, where there are also very...

The River Des Peres Greenway Trail provides a flat, paved route along the River Des Peres Drainage Channel in southwestern St. Louis. Although this urban trail is seldom crowded, one of its drawbacks...

Sandwiched between towering limestone bluffs and the confluence of two mighty rivers, the Sam Vadalabene Great River Road Bike Trail offers scenery once enjoyed by riverboat captains. Today, you can...

The St. Vincent Greenway Trail winds through the north and south campuses of the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) before emerging into the lush woodlands of St. Vincent Park. The park offers a...

The Sunset Greenway Trail begins near Sunset Park, on the banks of the Missouri River, and travels along a roadway through open space to beyond St. Ferdinand Park in Old Town Florissant. The village...

The West Alton Trail occupies the right-of-way of an old railroad bed. The crushed-stone trail runs for 2 miles between US 67 in West Alton and the Lincoln-Shields Recreation Area at the Mississippi...

Recent Trail Reviews

Katy Trail State Park

Katy Trail State Park

I had the pleasure to ride this beautiful trail starting in Rocheport, MO riding West one day to Booneville and East another day to McBaine while staying in Columbia for the solar ecilpse last year. Also rode about 8 miles from Mokane heading east...this trail is very scenic and user friendly. I can't speak for the other 200 miles but what I saw was worth the time and minimal effort...even in 90 degree weather!

Busch Greenway

nice trail

My family and I (husband and 3 kids; a 7 year old, a 4 year old, and a one year old who was on a seat attached to my husbands bike) rode a portion of this trail. We started at the access by the pond and rode to the end (about 2 miles). Along the way we saw an abundance of beautiful flowers and scenery. The trail is well marked, and has many options to go off and connect to other trails for a longer ride. The kids loved going through the tunnels. Though the paved trail was not completely flat, it was still a fairly easy ride. I recommend this trail for anyone who has kids with them or is looking for a nice and easy ride.

St. Louis Riverfront Trail

WATER!!!

This is a long, nothing but sunshine trail. Access to more than one spot for water os needed. There are 1 or 2 spots with water fountains but they didnt work. Water at the Chain of Rocks bridge would be good. Otherwise, bring a couple of goodsize bottles and a camelback.

Old Chain of Rocks Bridge

Park in Illinois

I saw the reviews about where to park and want to report what we found (July 29018 on a Weds afternoon). At the base of the bridge on the Missouri side the parking area is locked at the road entrance and based on the signage, may be open for special events. The bridge has gates that can be closed and signs said it is locked overnight. We drove south on Riverview Drive, hoping to park at the north end of the Chain of Rocks/Blase Park. However, in that parking area, there were several junky cars with people sitting in them and cases of empty beer cans/bottles. There was construction equipment and it looked like they were patching/replacing the parking surface but no workers were present. We didn't feel safe parking there so we drove over to the Illinois side, getting off the first exit and following the Chain of Rocks Road quite a distance and over a bridge until we came to the designated parking area for the bridge right at the base of the bridge. It had a different feel with several people parking to walk on bridge with their pets.

We rode over the bridge and followed the Riverfront Trail down through the Chain of Rocks/Blase Park on the Missouri side until we got into industrial area and then returned - about 9 miles round-trip. At one point (to avoid the water treatment plant) the trail crosses Riverside Drive and it is rather steep through the woods but otherwise the trail is rather flat and paved. At the southern end of the Park, they were actively doing construction in the parking area. Hopefully, both parking areas in the park on the MO side will be safe places for parking and connection to the bridge path - otherwise, your best option is parking in Illinois.

Katy Trail State Park

A 5 star trail experience for even those over 60

Had a break in the heat and rode over 70 miles on the Katy this week on different days. Hermann to Washington, Hartsburg to Boonville and Boonville to Pilot Grove. Hartsburg to Boonville may be some of the best scenery along the trail- high limestone cliffs, deep & dark forest canopies, some stretches right next to the Missouri river, and some open spaces. As always, this trail is well maintained, mowed, and the trailheads have great information and facilities. Note that you can connect with Amtrak at Washington (Dutzow trailhead on the Katy), Hermann, Jefferson City, and Sedalia, but they have a limit on bikes per train. The new bridge at Washington will be completed soon with a safe bike lane to get from the Dutzow trailhead to the train station. In the near future, Missouri could become a real "cyclist destination" by completion of the Rock Island trail from Windsor to Union. Union is only 7 highway miles from Washington. That would create a loop of over 450 miles and add some great scenic opportunities as the Rock Island route skirts the north edge of the Ozarks. Check out bikerockisland dot com for more information.

Mississippi Greenway

MTB trail

There is a MTB trail that begins at the top of the hill near the overlook. Not a great trail for a 1st time rider but good if you have been at it awhile. Goes from Blue to Black in some spots. There is also a nice 3 foot drop that can be done. Go only on dry days as this trail can get slick fast.

NOT paved the entire way

St. Louis Riverfront Trail

Starts boring from downtown

Please note: there is some free parking at the southern entrance to the trail. The first miles are through an old industrial park, and in the shadow of a tall, concrete levee. As one goes north, it becomes more scenic with more vegetation and views of the Mississippi.

Katy Trail State Park

May 2018

We rode the Katy Trail and the Rock Island Spur from Pleasant Hill to Windsor and then from Clinton to Machens. The Katy is in excellent condition and we enjoyed the historical markers. We saw snakes, turtles, lizards, indigo buntings and cardinals, turkey, groundhog, rabbit, armadillo, and 1 deer. We camped in Farrington Park in Windsor, Katy Roundhouse in New Franklin, and Steamboat Junction in Bluffton. All three had hot showers which was so awesome at the end of a long dusty ride. All three were nice but our favorite was Steamboat Junction.

The Katy doesnt have as many services close to the trail as we expected and in some cases the water pumps were disabled. The craft brewery in August was a pleasant treat. Ice cream was scarce. Several people said dont bother riding the last 12 miles from St Charles to Machens but it wasnt bad - maybe not quite as nice as other sections but we werent going to stop a few miles from the end.

Overall the scenery was midwestern woods and farm fields. You caught glimpses of the Missouri River from time to time. Tucked up under the bluffs you couldnt really appreciate them.

Very friendly people along the trail happy to give you advice and suggestions.

MCT Ronald J. Foster Heritage Trail

Great trail

We regularly ride this section of trail when we go to Edwardsville. The asphalt paving and new bridges done in 2016 made it even better. An added bonus; Glen Carbon public library just a quarter mile or so from the trail. If you go to Madison County trails be sure to ride this section